B&B
BEATA PATER/Red: An art chick in the Flora Purim mode, Pater uses her voice as another instrument in the ensemble. She has smart jazzbo chops but this kind of thing might not be for everyone. If you like funky riffs with an art chick on top, this is the diversion you've been waiting for.
418

INVISIBLE MUSIC
MARK KLEINHAUT NEIL LAMB/Jones Street: Two cats from Maine find themselves in an historic site in Savannah, GA and suddenly decide to record some spontaneous jams and improvs. Happens every day, right? Whatever the back story, these two jazzbos play off each other nicely channeling all your fave axe men from the Wes Montgomery era and style. A nice tasty work to kick back with, jazz guitar fans will be highly impressed with the good vibes flowing in fine form here. Check it out.
2049

MACK AVENUE
AARON DIEHL/Bespoke Man's Narrative: A young, award winning jazz pianist steps up for his debut by reinvigorating the cool school MJQ vibe and even went so far as to pick players who understood this and had the chops and desire to get further inside the heads of the original players. Not an homage but a continuance, there might be no direct connection to the MJQ legacy here, but said legacy is in good hands. Solid jazzbos all, this is as much an ensemble recording as a solo recording and the listener collects all the goodies. Hot stuff.
1066

OLI ROAD
OLI ROCKBERGER/Old Habits: Ok, don't run away. This guy sounds like Michael McDonald lite doing lite jazz. Come back here, it's not yukky! A well seasoned behind the scenes guy, he knows the right moves and knows how to skillfully apply them to make something new that just pulls you right in. One of those cats that's played with everybody from across the musical spectrum, this music might be lite but there's nothing light weight about it. Nice solid pop/jazz that goes right for the sweet tooth and doesn't leave cavities. Well done.
996

POST ECHO
VYIE/Nightingale: Oh, those crazy kids. If you didn't listen closely enough, you'd think this is some modern updating of yeah yeah French 60s girl pop. The unmistakable pomo vibe would have to alert even the most casual listener that there's something else going on here somewhere. Well, geezers, this is death pop and as much as you'd like to get to know the blindfolded blonde better, this ain't yeah yeah, it's millennial xanax music with a wall of sound edge. Crazy stuff for crazy times, you were there once yourself. Uh, kids in the band--sometimes you sound a little too much like Laura Branigan when she was trying to be edgy. Is that one of those so uncool that it's cool things?

RUF
SKINNY MOLLY/Haywire Riot: Well, this isn‘t a slimmed down version of Molly Hatchet, but it does have a guy from the 90's version of Lynyrd Skynyrd carrying on the southern rock tradition. If you liked the white trash noir of Highwaymen's "The Road Goes On Forever", Mike Estes turns up the volume, strips down the vibe and tells the tales from a darker place. Close to being bad ass biker rock, any yuppies venturing to the roadhouse at the edge of town, beyond the one at the strip mall, might be in for more than they expect if they make that journey to see this crew. Does this kind of basic, raucous rock ever go out of fashion no matter how fashions change? Don't bet against it. High octane throughout.
1184

TOP FROG
GEORGE KILBY JR/Six Pack: A singer/songwriter that's been at it for over 30 years, with a lot of that time spend steeped in the blues as opposed to folk idioms, checks in with a rootsy set of songs that just reach out and grab you with both hands holding on tight. Having the vibe of all your fave classic singer/songwriters, this set is at home in any collection that includes Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, John Stewart and Tom Waits. Too bad it's only an ep, this is a real under the radar winner.

TRU THOUGHTS
ALICE RUSSELL/To Dust: Joni Mitchell or Carole King? Did it ever really matter? Here's some contemporary, blue eyed soul from England. If you like Adele, you won't like this, and vise versa. However, Derek Smalls gives this the high sign. Follow your muse appropriately.

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